A Different Sort
by FebruaryAquarian
Summary: Lily Evans and Severus Snape know that no matter what, they want to be in the same house: Slytherin. What happens when that idea changes? How will this transform their friendship? AU
1. Chapter 1: The Train and the Ceremony

**A Different Sort:**

Summary: Lily Evans knew that no matter what house she'd be in, she wanted her best friend to be in the same house. When she isn't chosen for Slytherin, she wonders if there is any chance she will be with him after all. Severus Snape always wanted to be in Slytherin, just like his ancestors. However, when his best and only friend is sorted into a different house, he's not sure he wants to be in Slytherin anymore.

*This is a what-if or alternate universe scenario involving Severus Snape and Lily Evans from the _Harry Potter_ series by J.K Rowling. It will go back and forth between their thoughts, feelings and interpretations of events as I pictured them. I do love the original stories as they are, but I have wondered, since I read the seventh book, what if things were different. Since it's a fictional story, what ifs are possible, right? It was mostly done for fun and to practice my writing skills while on summer break. I know where I want to go with the story and how I plan to have it end. I have every intention of finishing this story, but it may take time. I am a full-time college student taking a very full load. I did edit this story and look over it for grammar, punctuation, typos, etc., but no one is perfect. If you see something I missed, don't hesitate to mention it. Thanks for reading and enjoy the story.*

**Chapter 1: The Train and the Ceremony**  
><em>Snape looked sideways at Dumbledore's crooked-nosed profile. "Karkaroff intends to flee if the Mark burns."<em>

"_Does he?" said Dumbledore softly. "And you are tempted to join him?"_

"_No," said Snape. "I am not such a coward." _

"_No," agreed Dumbledore. "You are a braver man by far then Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon."_

_**-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p.680**_

"_The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account." _

_-__** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p.758**_

"_You'd better be in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little._

"_Slytherin?" said one of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Severus until that point, looked around at the word, "Who wants to be in Slytherin?"_

_-__** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p.670**_

After Lily and Severus left the compartment, they walked around the halls, talking about the boys they had just met and how rude they were.

"They were talking about flying on brooms. I've never flown on a broom before, have you?" Lily asked nervously.

"No," Severus said, pondering about flying on a broom himself, "but I think they were just boasting. I doubt they can really fly that well. They think it makes them look better." She smiled at him.

"Yea, you're probably right." She sighed. "But they have probably have at least been on a broom since they have wizard parents. The only time I ever used a broom was to sweep the floors." He smiled at her. She smiled back and then let out a laugh. "Who knew brooms could fly? There's so much to learn still."

"Yea," He said and wondered in curiosity, "I wonder if we're almost there." A cart rolled up the hall at that moment. Severus got some every flavor beans with the little bit of money his mother had given him that morning. Lily got two chocolate frogs and pumpkin pastries, thought she did not eat them. She was too nervous and excited to eat.

"She said it will be a couple hours or so before we get there." He told her as she handed him a chocolate frog. "Look, it's Cornelius Fudge." Lily looked at the card.

"I love the moving pictures. It's so neat. I wish I could get one with my family, but since they are muggles, I don't think it'd work."

"I doubt it." He answered. "We better find a seat." She agreed. They spent the rest of the trip in a compartment with two different boys after retrieving their luggage without a word to James or Sirius. The boys called themselves Avery and Mulciber. They spoke of Slytherin, but they frightened Lily a little. Something about them seemed off. Snape, though slightly fascinated by their talk, felt unsure about the boys too.

"What about you too? What house are you looking at?"

"I think I'd like Slytherin." Severus said.

"And you, red head?" Severus frowned at them.

"Oh, um, I'm not sure. They all sound fine."

"They all sound fine?" Avery said, confused, then sniggered. "I bet you're a Mudblood, that's why you don't know anything."

"I bet you aren't as smart as you think you are." She retorted, but was curious. "What's a Mudblood?"

"It's what witches and wizards of muggle parents are called. Their blood is dirty. It lacks good quality wizard blood. They are a waste of space, in my opinion. I can't believe they let filth into the school." Before an angry Lily could say anything, Severus had jumped up, his face red with rage.

"Apologize!" He demanded.

"What?" Avery asked, startled by response.

"You apologize to her!" Severus felt his blood boiling as he pointed to Lily. A trunk overhead flew to the ground, hitting the knee of Mulciber and falling to the ground. He howled with pain and pulled out his wand.

"No! She's a mudblood and doesn't deserve to be apologized to!" Avery responded, his own face turning red with fury. Before Severus could do anything, the door opened.

"What is going on here?" A girl, much older than them with brown hair, asked. "I heard yelling. Who started it?" Mulciber put his wand down. Avery and Mulciber pointed to Lily and Severus as Severus and Lily pointed to Avery and Mulciber. Severus and Lily looked at them crossly.

"They were threatening us." Mulciber said, pretending to be frightened. This was a lie, but Severus was certainly considering threats. Lily was glad the girl, who claimed to be a prefect, had shown up. She was afraid the anger between Severus and herself might have caused something bad to happen.

"We were not! You asked what house I wanted to be in and then called me a Mudblood!"

"You called her a what?" The prefect glared at the boys with angry eyes. "That word is not allowed at our school! All of you get your robes on. We will be arriving soon." She left with one last threat. "I want to see better behavior from all of you. At Hogwarts, you may find yourself in detention and detention is never pleasant!" Severus and Lily left to change, neither wanting to be in the same room any longer with the boys. Lily could see Severus was angry, so was she, but she hoped the arrival would cheer them both up.

After they got changed, the train was slowing to a halt. Both lost their anger in the excitement, especially as they met the huge Hagrid and saw the Castle in the distance. They got in the same boat and stared in amazement as they crossed the lake. They had finally arrived.

Severus and Lily stood together, stomachs fluttering with nerves. The first people were called to the front by Professor McGonagall.

Avery was in Slytherin. This did not make Severus or Lily happy.

"Bishop, Rain" A girl walked to the front looking rather ill and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on her head.

"Ravenclaw!" The hat decided. The girl looked happy as she jumped off the seat and joined a table that was cheering. Lily was hardly paying attention because she was so nervous when Severus nudged her.

"Look who's next." He whispered. One of the boys from the train was now at the stool. The hat thought a moment. It was Sirius Black, whose entire family was in Slytherin.

"Gryffindor!" It shouted. The boy hoped down proudly and strode over to a different table. Lily waited patiently, but was eager to get a move on. Then, before she was ready, she was called.

"Evans, Lily." She gulped.

"Good Luck." Severus whispered, just as nervous as she was. He was crossing his fingers. _Let us be in the same house, let us be in the same house._ He prayed hard. It did not cross his mind to pray for her to be in Slytherin.

She walked up, taking a deep breath, but shaking inside. She did not turn back to Severus, fearing that if she opened her mouth or tried to smile, she might throw up. It seemed to decide where to place her the second it touched her head.

"Gryffindor!" Severus unlocked his fingers and groaned. She wasn't going to be in Slytherin, they weren't going to be in the same house. It was clear from talk on the train that the two houses were bitter rivals and he didn't want to be rivaled with Lily.

He looked over at her. She was sitting by the Black kid, but her arms were folded and her back was turned to him as if unhappy about her seating arrangement. She stole him a look and smiled. She looked a little sad too. Lily wondered what would happen now. She prayed in her mind. _Please put us in the same house. Please let Severus be in Gryffindor. _She prayed this over and over until he was sorted.

Severus felt disappointed. If he was going to be in Slytherin, the house he'd always wanted to be in, he wouldn't be with Lily. He never thought he wanted to be part of Gryffindor until now. Even Ravenclaw sounded better now. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor didn't appear to be such rivals, minus the Quidditch and House Cup. Before he could think more on this matter, he heard his name. He hadn't been paying any attention to the placements until then.

"Snape, Severus." He walked up to the stool, confusion and sadness whirling in him. The hat was placed on his head. He looked out to the Slytherin table. He no longer wanted to be in Slytherin if Lily wasn't there too. His heart was no longer in it. Now he hoped for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor as his house placement.

"Hmm," The hat said. "I see possible greatness from you. Slytherin would be a good fit. However, I also see intelligence. Ravenclaw might be suitable, but I also see great bravery in you." He didn't feel very brave just then. All he could think about was Lily. _I wish I could be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw._ He thought to himself. "Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Hmm, best be…"Severus held his breath. "Gryffindor!"

He was shocked. He looked at Lily as he got up. She looked surprised, but was beaming at the luck. The hat chose Gryffindor. He really wasn't meant to be in Slytherin? He thought he ought to feel disappointed, but instead he felt happy. He was going to be with Lily, in the same house. They would definitely have their classes together now and everything. Then, as he sat down, he realized who else was in Gryffindor besides the Black kid. James Potter, the other kid from the train, was sitting there. He sat down at the table and looked across it to where Lily as sitting. She was glowing with happiness.

"Wow, Sev!" She whispered. "Are you disappointed you aren't in Slytherin?" She asked, wondering if he was as happy as she was.

He thought about a second. "I feel like I should be, but I'm not. The hat said he saw great bravery in me!"

"I heard." She said back, but was grinning. "I think you are very brave, Sev." He smiled back genuinely and wanted to return the compliment, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Dumbledore arose and everyone got quiet. They looked up at him.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. To those who are new, we are excited to have you join us. To those returning, welcome back to a new year! Now let's dig in!" Food suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the table. They both were shocked, but dug in. It'd been awhile since both had eaten and now that they had arrived and were sorted into their houses, their appetites had come back. While Severus ate, he looked around the room and eyed the Slytherin table. The table he had envied, but now was grateful to not be sitting there. Once he noticed Avery and Mulciber at the table, he felt even better to be far away from them. He was still bitter about them calling Lily worthless. Minus Black and Potter, Gryffindor didn't seem so bad. Lily was with him, nothing else mattered. He turned back as a boy next to him was talking.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What are your parents? Muggles or wizard or witch or what?"

"Oh, my mom's a witch. My dad's a muggle." He said. "So half and half."

"Me too." The boy said.

"My family is witches and wizards." James Potter spoke proudly. Severus suppressed to urge to roll his eyes and looked at Lily instead. She had rolled her eyes and looked bored at James, but then caught Severus eyeing her. She shook her head in an approving way as if to agree with the look Severus was giving her about James boasting.

"My family is "pure-blood" and quite overly proud of it too." Sirius Black said, rolling his eyes as he spoke. "I'm the first Gryffindor in the family. I wonder what my parents will think of that." He smirked.

A different boy spoke. "My parents are muggles. It was quite a shock to them.

"Mine are too. They always thought all that weird stuff I could made me mental. Now that they know I'm a wizard, "Another boy said with a smirk, "They know for sure I was mental." He sneered proudly. "How's being a wizard not, they said. Nothing normal about being a wizard, according to them. I disagree and think it is an honor." He puffed up his chest in self-importance.

The girls were talking about their parentage too. Two were half-bloods like Severus. Two others were of wizarding heritage and the other was a muggle-born like Lily. Despite the train incident, it seemed most people didn't care about parentage, at least not in Gryffindor.

"My brother is a squib, though. My parents are disappointed about it, but say it does happen sometimes." One of the girls with wizarding heritage said. "They were so happy I could do magic."

"What's a squib?" Lily asked as she ate some potatoes.

"It's a person who has wizard heritage, but is unable to perform magic like a muggle." The girl answered.

"That can happen?" Lily was curious about that. She didn't know people who were wizards and witches could have children who couldn't do magic.

"It's rare." The girl said to Lily's confusion. "But sometimes they just don't inherit the ability. Just like muggle children randomly get the ability without any idea why. Some wizards and witches marry muggles and most have children with magical ability, but sometimes the children are just muggles. It's like all genes, I guess." Lily pondered this. Muggles, Muggle-borns, Squibs, Half-bloods, Pure-bloods and the worst name of all, she'd learned on the train was being called a Mudblood. It meant dirty blood and was reserved for those who are muggle-born. It was a lot to take in.

Before both knew it, the plates magically disappeared and the headmaster was speaking again. He was talking about the forest being forbidden to all students and that magic was not to be done in the corridors, among other rules. Then they were all getting up and were being lead by prefects to their dormitories. Severus caught up to Lily.

When they were at the bottom of a staircase, the male prefect told them to watch the staircases because they like to change. After someone tripped into it, he mentioned the trick step and pulled the boy up.

Finally, they were at a portrait of a lady. "Carpe Diem." He said and the portrait opened. He led them through the hole into the common room.

"Boys dorms are on the left. The doors are marked by year. Girls are on the right, same thing. Good night." Severus and Lily waved to each other before parting.

Severus went up and found his trunk next to the bed closest to the door. He prayed that neither Black nor Potter would be next to him. Much to his pleasant surprise, they were both at the other end of the room. His bed was next to Eddie Metchamp, whose parents were muggles. Todd O'Brian and an empty bed also separated him from Sirius and James, thankfully. Severus assumed it must belong to the Lupin boy. A very pale and ill looking boy had showed up late to the sorting and left immediately afterward. As they were going to bed, only James and Sirius seemed to cause trouble. They seemed to find stupid nicknames for everyone already.

Sirius started on Eddie first, "Ed met a chump. Have you met a chump or are YOU the chump?" He laughed at his own joke despite the recipients being unable to find them humorous. James was the only one who seemed to find them funny. "Snivellus." He joked about Severus. Severus, who'd already heard the joke on the train, pretended to hear nothing except Eddie talk about his vacation to Greece. He also joked about "Todd a brain, get it; Toss a brain, Todd a brain." James and Sirius laughed about their new jokes until the lights went turned out by the head boy.

As he was lying awake in his four poster bed, he wondered how Lily was fairing and also wondered about living with James and Sirius for seven years. She was worth it. He also began to wonder why he was not picked for Slytherin. Bravery, the hat had said. He saw bravery in Severus and intelligence. He was startled by a roaring sound on his right. James was snoring and mumbling in his sleep. He sneered. Next time James mocked him, he might remind him of his loud snores and sleep-talking. Severus felt like he might not fall asleep at all in the confusion and excitement of the day, but somehow, he managed.

Lily tried to contain her excitement, but it was hard to sleep. So many things dwelled in her mind. What the classes would be like and how well she would do in them? She was sorted in a good house. She was with her best friend in the same house. She hoped Severus wasn't disappointed. He had spoken so highly of Slytherin and of his mother's family being in it. She also wondered how he was fairing since he had to share a room with James and Sirius, the jerks from the train. She wondered about the Sorting Hat's decisions. The hat said the brave and courageous were in Gryffindor. It must have thought she was brave, though she certainly didn't feel it at all. It saw bravery in Sev too. It must have seen some sort of bravery in the both of them. She rolled over in her four poster bed, feeling like she'd never fall asleep, but she somehow managed to anyway.

_Coming Soon: Chapter 2: Potions and Charms_


	2. Chapter 2: Potions and Charms

*I made a slight error in my last chapter. I had an unnamed extra person in Severus's dorm. Ignore that. I did not catch that line until after it was posted. Anyway, I hope those who read it like it. Note: I made Peter Pettigrew part of a different house. I did not feel that Gryffindor suited him. Despite his appalling turn in the end, I doubt Slytherin would have been good for him either. The third chapter should be up sometime next week, depending on the demands of mi clase de espanol.*

**Chapter 2: Potions and Charms**

The next morning, the sun shone bright in the windows. The reflection of light showed the dust circling the room. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Severus was up before any of his roommates. He hurried to get dressed and get downstairs to met Lily. He wanted to get down to the Great Hall early. They were supposed to get their schedules today. He knew getting there early wouldn't make him receive his schedule any faster, but he still wanted to get there early. He hoped Lily might be up early too and they could spend some time together before classes began. It was definitely nice to wake up to quiet and know that his father wasn't in the next room trying to sober up.

Severus found the common room empty, but it wasn't even 6AM yet. Most of the students were still in bed, he was sure. He waited in the room, where a bright fire was lit the night before, but was fizzling out now. He liked that he was sitting in the common room and waiting for Lily. It was much better than sneaking out before his dad woke up and waiting for Lily at the park.

It wasn't long before a few students were coming down. They were obviously older and did not sit in the common room, but left through the portrait hole. He could probably go on down, but he was hoping to catch Lily. More and more students came from both dorms and promptly left. When Eddie and Todd came down, they wanted Severus to join them. In the commotion, he saw pack of girls leaving and tried to see if he spotted Lily. They all appeared to be older. None had her red hair, he'd notice if they did.

"Um, I was waiting on someone."

"They might already be downstairs. Come on or we won't find a seat." Severus sighed, but decided to tag along.

The common room was about half full already. Severus sat with Eddie and Todd along with two other first year girls. Lily wasn't here yet. As more and more people arrived, he kept eyeing them to see if he could spot her. He hoped to catch her attention.

When Lily awoke, she saw two girls leaving. She needed to hurry downstairs. By the time she finished getting dressed, her other roommates were up. Mary asked Lily to wait for her, so she did. Lily wondered if Severus was already downstairs waiting for her or if he was still up in the dorms.

Finally, they hurried down the steps and out of the tower. The Great Hall was getting more and more crowded by the second. She looked around before finally spotting Severus and some other first years. He spotted her and smiled. She smiled back and gave a little wave.

"Come on, Mary, I see them." They hurried to the table. Severus had saved her a seat. Mary sat across from her. Severus was already eating.

"Thanks for saving me a seat." As Lily started to eat, she heard a ruckus.

"Oh, look, double trouble coming our way." Eddie said. Severus and Lily both turned.

"It's just the jerks from the train."

"They are annoying little brats. Spent all of the evening making up stupid nicknames for everyone and laughing at their completely unfunny jokes." Todd said, buttering some bread. "Pretend they don't exist." Sirius and James sat down between Mary and Todd.

"Hey, toss a brain, pass the salt." Todd ignored them, stuffing bread in his mouth. Lily thought he did this so he wouldn't have to talk. The look on his face told her it wouldn't have been kind words if he had. He handed James the salt a little more forcibly than necessary, causing the salt to spill a little.

"Hey, Snivellus, pass the bacon. Just don't get any extra grease on it." Severus looked at him irately and thrust the bacon at him, biting his lip so he wouldn't say anything back.

It wasn't much later when Professor McGonagall arrived at their table and began to call names and hand out schedules.

Severus looked at Lily. "We have transfiguration first. We have it by ourselves."

"It's with McGonagall. She looks a little stern. I wonder what she'll be like as a teacher." Lily whispered.

Severus shrugged. "We have Defense against the Dark Arts this morning too and double Potions this afternoon. We have Astronomy tonight. It's at midnight?"

Lily looked at her schedule. "It is at midnight. A class at midnight sounds like fun." Severus gave her a half grin. Lily thought everything was fun. She always had a way of turning the bad into the good.

"We have Charms and History of Magic tomorrow morning. Then we have double Herbology in the afternoon."

"Someone named Wick is teaching Defense against the Dark Arts and someone called Slughorn is teaching Potions. A professor Stone is teaching Astronomy." A girl named Kellie chimed in. At that moment, there was a loud bell.

"First classes everyone." The first years all got up and followed the older students out into the hallway. Sirius kept running into their heels. Mary got so frustrated; she looked as if she was ready to hit him. Severus wished she would have.

They eventually found the Transfiguration classroom and proceeded to their seats. Severus and Lily made sure to sit next to each other. Mary sat at the end next to Severus. He knew she wanted to be as far away as possible from Sirius. Sirius sat behind her anyway. James was sitting behind Severus. It made him uncomfortable. It made Lily uncomfortable too. Eddie, Kellie and another girl named June sat at their table.

Two of Lily's roommates were sitting next to James and Sirius. Fern and Sharon looked unhappy with the arrangement. Todd sat next to them. In the last seat sat the pale-faced boy who still looked a bit in poor health. Lily thought he looked a little lonely. She wished they had an extra seat up front.

"Good morning, boys and girls.

"Good morning, Professor!" They called back kindly.

"Thank you. It looks like everyone has found the classroom and a seat." She took attendance first.

"Now I want everyone to take out their wands. We are going to transfigure a match into a needle, but first I must lay down they law. Transfiguration is a serious, complex and – Mr. Potter, stop waving your wand! We aren't doing anything yet!" James put his wand down a little embarrassed from pretending.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Everyone except Sirius snickered. Even Lupin smiled a little. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, it's a complex and potentially dangerous practice." She moved her wand over a vase and it turned into a guinea pig. They were all impressed. She changed it back. "Now, onto business. MacDonald, can you pass out the matches!"

Mary got up and took the matches from her. As she was passing them out, the professor spoke again. "No one is to light the match! You mess around in my classroom, you will not only loss points, but will be thrown out faster than you can say expulsion, understand?" Everyone nodded. "Good, let's get started."

James seemed to get the hang of transfiguration right away. It only took two attempts before he got the match to become a needle. By the end of class, only June had changed her stick to a needle. It took June about several attempts, but she got it down. Remus's had turned pointy, but was still red at the end. Sharon's match had turned silver, but still looked like the match. For everyone else, it was a frustrating class.

Defense against the Dark Arts wasn't any better. Professor Wick wasn't a very pleasant man. He did not smile. He had them start right away in deep lecture and note-writing. They spoke about a couple of simple jinxes and how to counter them. Severus found it all interesting. Lily wondered why jinxes were ever necessary.

"I wish we could try them out." He told Lily excitedly at lunch. She looked stunned.

"Why?" Lily wondered why he'd ever want to try out such things. Severus was surprised by her bewilderment.

"I just think it'd be interesting to see if they really work and how to reverse them."

"I don't see why we have to know about the Dark Arts at all."

"Lily, he's telling us defense, not the real Dark Arts. We have to know what the Dark Arts are so we can defend ourselves. "

"I know, but, I just wish that it, it, you know, wasn't real." She spoke, exasperated. "I hate that we have to defend ourselves at all."

"You know there is evil in the world, Lily. Why would a wizarding world be any different? There are bad witches and wizards just as there are bad muggles." Severus thought she would have liked the class as much as he did. He had guessed wrong.

Lily sighed "I know. You're right. We should know how to defend ourselves in case we cross any bad wizards ever."

"Exactly." Severus agreed. "What if James or Sirius decides to try one of them on us? We should know how to reverse it." Lily smirked and nodded in agreement.

"We have double potions with the Slytherins after lunch." Fern said out loud, reading her schedule. This diverted their attention to something else, to Lily's delight. She didn't want to talk about Defenses against Dark Arts anymore.

"Great." Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

The room was easy enough to find. To Severus's and Lily's displeasure, Avery and Mulciber were already in there with a few other Slytherins. Lily noticed that all the Slytherins she had seen so far looked rather menacing. She was glad that she and Severus were not in Slytherin. All of the Slytherins seemed to be on the left side of the room. The Gryffindors all seemed to notice what Lily did and made a beeline to the right side of the room.

Severus sat at the end of a table next to Lily. Fern sat on the other side of Lily. James, Sirius and Remus Lupin were in front of them this time. Severus watched the Slytherins. He had always wanted to be in Slytherin. Now he was noticing how threatening they looked. James and Sirius might be pains, but they didn't seem scary. They were just jerks. He had a feeling just then that maybe he was in the better house after all. He doubted the older Slytherins would have been as kind and helpful as some of the Gryffindors have been. They seemed to be bullies. He had been bullied enough by his father and certainly would have hated being bullied by nearly everyone in his house. Hogwarts was supposed to be his sanctuary, not another nightmare.

"Good morning." Professor Slughorn called. "I am going to call roll first."

Severus and Lily both noticed that he seemed to find relation to someone he knew of at everyone's name.

"Lily Evans." She raised her hand. "I don't know any Evans."

"You probably don't sir. My parents aren't a witch or wizard." The Slytherins all seemed to eye Lily now. This made her uncomfortable.

"Then you'll be the first great witch in a line of them!" Slughorn was head of Slytherin, but he was clearly not bothered by someone being Muggle-born. She smiled at him. The Slytherins frowned. Slughorn continued on.

"Severus Snape." Severus raised his hand. "I don't know a Snape. Muggle-born?"

"My dad's a muggle. My mother is a witch. Her name was Eileen Prince."

"Prince you say? I knew of the Princes and I think I remember your mother. Yes, yes. She was a few years younger when I was in school. She was a bright witch, she was." Severus gave a half-smile.

During that class period, they got out their cauldrons and brewed a very simple potion. Severus and Lily were both among the best in the class. The potion turned gold and glistened like it was supposed to and Slughorn gave Gryffindor 10 house points. Slytherin got 5 points since only one person managed to succeed. James seemed to struggle with his potion. This pleased Severus. Remus was struggling quite a bit. His potion had turned brown and looked more like mud than silk. Lily wished she could help him.

"Perfect potion, huh? Who did you swipe your cauldron with you filthy little Mudb-" A boy named Even Rosier from Slytherin started on Lily, but before he could get out the spiteful word, his potion bubbled over and hit him square in the face. The Gryffindors all laughed at him, even James and Sirius. Remus was laughing so hard, he was snorting.

"Look at your face, ha ha!" James was howling with laughter, clutching his stomach, and pointing at Rosier.

"That's what you get for trying to call someone that word." Sirius retorted, trying not to laugh at the purple liquid on Rosier's cheek. Rosier turned to him, his eyes gleaming with malice.

"Like you are one to talk, you filthy little blood traitor!" Sirius glared at him. Neither said a word until Slughorn arrived.

"What's going on here?"

"Nothing." Sirius and Evan said this a bit too quick. Slughorn wasn't convinced.

"Well, the potion was harmless today. Let's continue with our lesson, shall we?" They continued on after cleaning their potions and tables up. Slughorn discussed different potion ingredients. Severus was engrossed in the lesson. Potions fascinated him. Lily seemed to enjoy potions so far. This time, Severus and Lily both seemed to enjoy the same class. At the end, despite still loathing Sirius and James, he was glad they had teased someone who he felt deserved it.

Despite the perfect morning, the night was cloudy. Severus and Lily were unable to look at the stars in Astronomy. The following morning showed them History of Magic and Charms. Everyone agreed that History of Magic was the most boring class ever. The professor was a ghost who spoke in a barely audible, monotone voice. Lily looked around the room to keep herself awake. Some students were sleeping. One Ravenclaw was even snoring. Some Slytherins were tossing paper airplanes to each other. Some Hufflepuff girls were writing notes back and forth. James was mumbling in his sleep. Sirius was talking to a boy named Peter from Hufflepuff. Remus was spinning a penny. He looked better today. She looked to her right to where Severus was. He was in a daze. His head nodded down as he closed his eyes, but he jerked himself up real quick. He shook his head, trying to stay awake.

The next class was much better. Professor Flitwick was new to the school, but was a great teacher. They shared the Charms class with the Ravenclaws. It was clear from the start that Lily would love this class. After Flitwick had called roll, he discussed what Charms were. He then gave them a simple Charm to do. Lily perfected hers first thing. Severus struggled to get his right, but eventually did. Flitwick praised Lily for doing well.

"That was perfect, Ms. Evans. You are amazing at Charms already. I can see you will be gifted student." Even though Severus was struggling with his charm, he smiled at Lily. Of course Lily would be good at Charms. She was just perfect that way. Charms were nice things and Lily was kindest person he knew. She had befriended him when no one else would. She would always be that way. That was why he liked her from the moment he saw her and saw that she was a witch. Lily had a way of seeing the good in everything.

They had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout spent most of the class explaining procedures and such. At the end, they got to squeeze honeysuckle for practice. She even let them taste the honeysuckle as a treat, but warned them to never taste anything unless otherwise specified.

Things had gone well the first week. Even with the mountain of homework they were receiving, it was great. Severus and Lily spent each evening doing their homework together. He helped her with Defense against the Dark Arts and she helped him in Charms. He knew the jinxes and hexes and how to counter them. She knew how to charm objects and do incantations. They excelled at Potions and struggled with Transfigurations. They made a great team.

_Coming Soon-Chapter 3: Allies and Adversaries _


	3. Chapter 3: Allies and Adversaries

*I used Rowling's descriptions in the books to describe the weather at Hogwarts. If it seems out of place or something, forgive me. I've never been to Europe. Also, forgive any non-British sounding language. You will appreciate the story more if I don't even attempt it, trust me on this. I have never been good at accents, even with the southern (U.S) one I was raised knowing*

*Thanks for the reviews Ravenclawbabe and Cru. James and Sirius are still James and Sirius. They are only 11-12 right now. They are still quite young and immature. Snape being in Gryffindor wouldn't change their personalities. They are still arrogant big-heads who strut about the castle at this point. Severus and Lily in Ravenclaw? That would be an interesting idea! They both would have been just fine there. They were both intelligent enough.

Ionic, I put Peter in Hufflepuff because I thought they took those who did not really fit anywhere too. I do not consider Peter brave at all. Maybe he was loyal to Voldemort, but I thought it was done out of fear. I felt Peter was a follower and seemed to relish in malice, that's why he hung around James and Sirius. I don't think it is at all brave to betray your friends, especially out of fear. I felt it made him a coward. Fear is the opposite of bravery. You may think differently and that is fine. Rowling put him in Gryffindor in the books. I was honestly suprised she placed him there. The first Gryffindor to go bad, apparently. This won't change Peter or his place with the Marauders in this fanfiction. I wanted him in a separate house for this story.*

**Chapter 3: Allies and Adversaries **

September had rolled into October and the weather was turning cloudy. Most days it rained. The classes were just as difficult as ever. Severus and Lily spent most of their time studying. Lupin had disappeared in early October again and returned looking ill. This did not help him in his classes. Lily took pity on him and invited him to study. Severus didn't mind Lupin; he'd never been mean to him. However, he did kind of like studying with Lily alone.

It turned out not to be so bad. Lupin really needed their help catching up with the work he'd missed. "You feeling okay, Remus? You still look a bit peekish." Lily asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better, thanks."

"That's good because our first flying lesson is coming up. Aren't you both excited?" She asked Remus and Severus.

"Sure, but I haven't flown very much." Lupin said honestly.

"Er, um, maybe." Severus answered. He wasn't so sure. They were flying with the Slytherins that Saturday and truthfully, he was a bit worried about it.

"I'm a bit nervous, really. I've never flown on a broom before." Lily admitted.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." He said. "Both of you will be, it can't be that hard." Severus gave him a half-smile. Lily grinned.

"So will you." She said with a pat on his back.

Saturday came and they were outside waiting for Madam Hooch. The Slytherins were all in a group while the Gryffindors were all in a different group. James and Sirius were talking together, boasting about their skills on the brooms. Eddie was jabbing away about what flying might be like with Lily and Fern. Severus, Remus and Todd were waiting patiently. The other girls were chatting in anticipation. They appeared to be talking about their hair. Todd rolled his eyes, "Girls are so wierd."

"What's the matter? Never flown on a broom before, Mudbloods!" A boy from Slytherin called out. Everyone in both houses stopped and turned to him. Severus knew he was referring to Eddie, Todd, Lily and Fern. They were all muggle-born. He had started to really dislike the word and loathed it when it was used on Lily. He had noticed that only Slytherins used the word and when they did it, it was always with spite. He'd never understand why they insulted Lily with such revulsion when they didn't even know her.

"Firehead, how many seconds until you fall flat on your face?" This insult was directed at Lily. She turned away. She refused to fight with them. Without thinking, Severus had grabbed his wand. He felt an arm on him just as quick.

"Don't!" Remus snapped. "It'll just make it worse. Plus, the teacher is coming." Severus looked behind him. Sure enough, a lady was coming towards them with her hands full of brooms. He put his wand back.

"Good morning boys and girls!"

Good morning, Madam Hooch." They replied.

"Good." She waved her wand and the brooms were placed in two neat rows. "One person to a broom, please." Everyone stood by a broom. "First things first, place your hand over your broom and say UP! You must say it with feeling and mean it. Most won't get it the first time. That's okay. It takes practice. Go!"

"UP!" Everyone yelled at once. A couple Slytherins got their brooms up right away. To Severus and Lily's dismay, James and Sirius also got their brooms up first try. It took a few more tries for everyone else. Lily was excited once hers was up.

"I got, Sev, I got it!" She said, jumping up and down a little. He smiled. Two more ups were required before Severus got his broom up too.

Finally, everyone had a broom in hand. "Wonderful job! Now mount your brooms!" They did as asked.

"Now I want you to kick off gently, hover a little, and then drop back down. Go!" Everyone started up.

It happened so fast it was hard to be sure what had exactly happened. Severus and Lily had gone up a little. Lily's broom suddenly flew up higher and began to twist. She was clutching it tight, but had no control of her broom. It seemed to be making its own decisions. She was knocked into Severus, who hit June, who in turn ran into James, who collided with Sirius, who fell into Kellie, who was rammed into Todd, who bumped into Sharon, who began spinning and dizzily smashed into Remus and Mary. The next thing they knew, they were all in a heap on the ground with the Slytherins laughing hysterically. Only Eddie and Fern managed to escape the chaos unscathed. They were both helping the rest of their fellow Gryffindors up.

Madam Hooch was then scolding a couple Slytherins. "You do NOT EVER JINX OR HEX broomsticks on MY watch! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU will be in detention!" The Slytherins had stopped laughing.

"Are you okay, Sev? I am so sorry, I, I don't know what happened."

"I'm fine. Just a couple bumps and bruises. What about you?

"Same." He got to his feet and held out his hand. She smiled and accepted his help. They were all taken to the hospital wing for a brief check by Madam Pomfrey. Todd and Sharon were the only ones who had to stay. They got the brunt of the mess. Todd had some deep cuts in addition to his knock on the head by Kellie's broomstick. Sharon had broken her nose.

"Stupid idiots, thinking they can hex broomsticks!" Severus vented to Lily. "They could have hurt you, hurt all us much worse than they did! I ought to show them!"

"Snivellus, for once I agree with you. You do have some sense under all that grease!" James said as they were all walking to their dorm. Severus stopped abruptly in shock, causing June to run into him. James? Agree with him? That was a first. Of course, Severus was just venting, he didn't know what he would even do to get back at them. "Sirius, I have a plan!" They both bolted up the steps.

"I'm afraid to ask what they intend to do." Eddie said nervously.

They found out that evening what James and Sirius had planned. The Slytherins who had jinxed Lily's broom were running through the corridors, screaming, while something was causing loud cracking and popping. The Gryffindors were joined by the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs at the doors of the Great Hall, laughing as muggle firecrackers were exploding across the hall at the Slytherins' feet. News had traveled fast about the incident with the brooms. Their Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff classmates disliked the Slytherins about as much as the Gryffindors.

The next thing they heard was Filch, jogging down the hall at James and Sirius. They made a run for it. "I'm going to get the both of you! You are destroying the school! Come back here right now!" As Filch ran, a couple of still lit firecrackers exploded, causing him to yelp. "You crazy hooligans!" He chased them out of view. Severus and Lily still despised James and Sirius, but they both had to admit, it was a good prank.

It was now the start of Decemer. Rain beat down heavily on the roofs of the Greenhouses while they were in Herbology one afternoon. Severus and Lily were paired with Jeff Miller and Rachel McFarland from Hufflepuff. James, Sirius and Remus were paired with Peter Pettigrew of Hufflepuff. Peter was a small boy who looked sort of mousy. He seemed to idolize James and Sirius a bit. Severus automatically didn't like Peter because of this. Who in their right mind would admire such arrogance?

At the end of the class, the rain was pouring down. Severus and Lily made a run for the castle with everyone else. Even with their cloaks over their heads, they all managed to get soaked. Severus was tripped by Sirius on the way up the steps.

"Sorry, Snivellus, in a hurry!" Severus frowned, picking himself up. He really disliked James and Sirius. Lily had stopped to help him.

"You stupid jerk!" She yelled at Sirius, but he was already at the castle door. She turned to Severus."You okay?"

"Yea, fine." He had torn his pants at the knee and had a small scrap, but he was fine. By the time they reached the doors, they were drenched. Lily was shivering from the cold.

"L-Let's go g-get w-warmed up." Lily said, her teeth chattering. He nodded, rubbing his arms to try and warm up.

As they were walking down the hallway toward the stairs, they were met with an unpleasant surprise. Avery, Mulciber, Rosier and two other boys were messing around in the corridors.

"Well, if it isn't the Mudblood and one of the blood traitors." Severus and Lily weren't in the mood to fight. They both just wanted to go to their dorms, change clothes and warm up by the fire. As they started to walk around them, the boys turned on them. Before either could get out their wands, Rosier pointed his at Severus. "Expelliarmus!"

Severus was thrown backward and smacked into a wall before hitting the ground. A second later he heard Lily scream. She had been hit with the same spell. Severus pulled himself up to a sitting position, yanked out his wand and pointed it at Rosier. "Rictumsempra!" He yelled out. Rosier doubled over, laughing. Severus had hit him with the tickling charm Lily had taught him. "Petrificus Totalus!" Rosier fell over. Severus got to his feet and was immediately hit with another Expelliarmus that knocked him back down. He angrily pointed his wand at the boy who'd done it to him and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" The boy got immediately stiff and fell over. Lily was getting to her feet. Avery pointed his wand at her, but before he could open his mouth, he had gone stiff too. Someone had yelled the Totalus jinx at him.

"Nice one, greasyhead. Thanks for teaching it to me." James peered around the corner. "I heard commotion on my way up and decided to come back down to investigate. Good thing I did." Mulciber aimed an Expelliarmus at James, but Severus beat him to it with the foot bind jinx.

"You are good at the jinxes and hexes." He eyed the boys. The only boy left among the Slytherins was running away. "So, what should we do with them?"

"Leave `em, they'll be found sooner or later." Severus said, still sitting on the ground. He tried to get up, but his ankle was too sore and couldn't support his weight, causing him to fall back down.

"Severus, you're hurt." Lily ran to him.

"I'll be fine. Let's just go upstairs."

"I think you should see Madam Pomfrey."

"No, really, Lily. I'm fine, ." He tried to get back up again, but couldn't. He sucked in air at the pain and breathed out hard. "It's just a little sore, that's all." She was unconvinced.

"I am taking you to the hospital wing. You don't have a say in the matter!" She spoke sincerely. He knew he wouldn't be able to reason with her. He tried to get up. She helped him on his weak side. To both Severus and Lily's surprise, James offered to help. They were skeptical at first, wondering if it was a trick.

"You can't take him to the hospital by yourself." He helped Lily take Severus to the hospital wing without incident.

"Thanks." Severus mumbled to James, unsure if he should thank him or not.

"No, thank you. You stopped the hex Mulciber aimed at me. You're not so bad after all, are you? I'm still surprised you became a Gryffindor. You seemed set on Slytherin on the train, but you are proving yourself above them."

"I don't have to prove myself to you." Severus said as he lay in a bed, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come back.

"You want to prove yourself though." Severus didn't answer. He did want to prove he was good at something, but he already done so. He was better at Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts than James and Sirius. They were both better at Transfigurations, but he didn't care.

Madam Pomfrey arrived. "Bye, Snivellus." James said as he was leaving the room. "Wash off all that grease while you are here."

Lily rolled her eyes. Madam Pomfrey fixed his ankle. "You are lucky," She said to him, "Your ankle was badly twisted. You nearly broke it. Be more careful, both of you. Now, both of you best go up to your dorms and get into dry clothes before you catch a cold, and you," she pointed to Severus as he was getting up. "Easy on the ankle as it heals, understand." He nodded.

As Lily and Severus headed to the dorms this time, they kept their wands out. It took a while to get to the dorm since Severus's ankle was still quite sore, causing him to limp along. The boys were now gone, someone must have found them. Lily wondered if they would get in trouble for dueling in the corridors.

"Age quod agis!" Lily called to the Fat lady. She swung open and they entered the common room. Lily helped Severus up the steps to his dorm, then left to go to her dorm. They met back downstairs in dry clothes and gathered with the other Gryffindors by the fire. Lily and Severus helped Remus with the engorging jinx and the tickling charm. Remus was looking a bit ill again. By the next morning, the rain had turned to snow and Remus had disappeared to the hospital wing.

Everyone in Severus's dorm was wondering about Remus. He seemed to be ill a lot. Lily was worried about Remus. It wasn't even Christmas yet and this was the 4th time he'd been sick. "Poor Remus, he's going to miss more of his classes. It must be terrible to be sick so often." Severus had to agree with her, but he couldn't help but wonder: what exactly was making him so ill every month?

_Coming soon: Chapter 4: (I don't have a title for it yet)_


	4. Chapter 4: Under the Weather: Part I

*Mostly from Lily's POV this time. More of a continuation of Chapter 3 (Allies and Adversaries). Oh and I actually forgot about Hufflepuff during the sorting *blushes*, that was my error. You could consider his character loyal. He certainly was to Dumbledore.*

**Chapter 4: Under The Weather: Part I**

Finally, it was Christmas. Severus was the only first year still at Hogwarts. Everyone, even Lily, had gone to spend Christmas with their families. There were very few older students left too. Only a small handful of students were still in the school. Severus used his free time to explore the castle. It was so huge and he hadn't seen much of it yet. He found a secret passageway that lead straight to the Hogsmead Village. He wasn't supposed to be there, and not wanting to find himself in detention while on break, headed back to the castle.

Severus wondered if James had found the passage to Hogsmead with the way they ran around at all hours. James and Sirius were often out at late hours and had been dragging Lupin with them lately. Potter and Black behaved as if they owned the castle. They seemed to like pushing the limits and seeing if they got caught. It was rather annoying.

When he wasn't exploring the castle, he read through his potions book, making changes to it here and there. He was used to being alone, but in a place so big, it felt strange.

00000

Lily had a great Christmas for the most part. Her parents were excited to have her home and she was happy to see them again. Petunia, on the other hand, was a different story. She rarely spoke to Lily and often pretended she wasn't there. The cold shoulder attitude was hard to bear and made her miss school and her friends even more. She had assumed Petunia had gotten over her jealousy. It had been three months. Lily had gotten over her sister's attitude and forgiven her for being petty and childish, why hadn't Petunia done the same? Lily couldn't change the fact that she was a witch. Why couldn't Petunia just accept it like her parents had?

When Lily tried to confront Petunia about her coldness, Petunia got defensive and resorted to calling her a freak again. It upset her and though her parents tried to help remedy the situation, they knew it had to done between the girls. Nothing was going to convince Petunia, though.

"She's still just jealous." Lily assumed. "By summer, she'll be better. She has to be. She can't possibly be mad at me forever." It was a bittersweet trip back to Hogwarts at the end of the holiday.

000000

The start of the New Year brought nothing new. They still had the same classes and everything was back to normal. Lily did miss her parents while at school, but she would remember Petunia and decide that she was glad she was at Hogwarts. There wasn't much time to think about Petunia however, because the work began to get piled on them.

The month of January included both Severus and Lily's 12th Birthdays. Petunia did not send Lily a present or any acknowledgement that it was her birthday. This hurt Lily a little since she had given Petunia a present back on her birthday in December.

0o0o0o

Lily woke up a little late one February morning. Kellie had to shake her to get her up. "Come on, Lils, we need to get down to breakfast soon! We'll be late for classes. Hurry up!" Lily opened her eyes and got up quickly. It must have been too quick, because she felt the little woozy.

"I'm coming. Just give me a minute to get dressed. I'll meet you down there." As she got dressed, she noticed she was still really tired. She hadn't slept well that night for some reason. It was nothing, she told herself.

She met her friends and sat down at the Gryffindor table. She looked at her food and realized that she wasn't really hungry. Her meal didn't look as appetizing as usual. She ate a bite of toast anyway, but it tasted like sandpaper. It was then she noticed her nose was a bit stuffy. Must be an allergy or maybe I am getting a little cold, she told herself.

It was hard to concentrate in her classes. She felt run down. During Defense against the Dark Arts, Lily wasn't really working on the jinx. She did not feel very good. She wanted to go up to bed. Some rest would make her feel better.

"Lily? Lily, pay attention." Remus said to her and she came out of her tired haze.

"Sorry."

"Everything okay?" Severus turned to Lily at Remus's words.

"Yeah." She lied. She didn't want anyone to start fussing over her. She hated being fussed over.

"Are you sure? You are a little pale." Severus asked her, noticing her face looked whiter than normal.

"I'm just tired, that's all." They accepted this excuse.

After class, she tried to head for the dorms, but June stopped her and asked for some help on the Charm homework. Lily went to the Great Hall instead of taking a nap like she'd hoped. She tried her best to help June, but her mind felt fogged.

During Potions that afternoon, Lily wasn't doing well. Her fellow Gryffindors had noticed and kept pestering her, asking if she was okay.

"You are not. Your face is as pale as a ghost and your cheeks are red as apples." James snapped at her. Lily glared at him.

"I said I'm fine."

"Liar!" He whispered.

"Since when do you care about me or how I feel?"

James looked taken aback. "Geez, Lily, I may be, how do you say it, arrogant? But I'm not heartless."

"Could have fooled me?" She snapped back. She was not in the mood to deal with him right now.

"Touchy, eh? I'll blame it on the sickness."

"I am not sick!" She said with certainty before her headache reminded her she actually was sick. She pressed her hand to her forehead and shut her eyes for a second. "Just leave me alone. I don't-"

"Feel like dealing with us today, right?" Sirius answered for her. Lily didn't appreciate that. She laid her head down. Kellie put her hand on Lily's back.

"I think you should go see Madam Pomfrey after class. I'll go with you if you want." Lily sighed and nodded.

"Okay."

After class, she went with Kellie to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey gave her some potion to ease her pains. Instead of hanging out with her friends, she went to bed until dinner. Once she got up, she did feel better and actually ate some dinner.

For a couple days the potions Madam Pomfrey gave eased her cold. Then, it seemed to stop working for some reason. She felt fine in the morning. It was during Herbology that she began to get a headache. By the end of class, she felt run down and thought she should take a nap. Her next potion dose couldn't be taken until that night.

She lagged behind everyone else who was leaving, but Rachel of Hufflepuff stayed with her. "You don't look so good, Lily."

"I don't feel so good, Rachel. I think I am going to go rest in my dorm."

"I hope you feel better." Rachel said with a smile and wave as she ran off toward her common room.

When Lily got to her dorm, she found Remus waiting for her. She forgot she was supposed to help him with charms where he'd missed again.

She helped him some until Severus came in and helped with the defense spells. Lily sat on the couch. She felt worse and worse by the minute. She felt herself shiver despite burning up at the same time. She definitely had a fever. She laid her head on the armrest. The commotion of the room spun in her head. She was fine, she just needed some sleep. She curled up, shutting her eyes. Her stomach churned a little. Her whole body started to ache.

"Hey, Lily, I did it!" Remus exclaimed, but stopped upon looking at her. "Lily?" Severus was now looking at her too.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Severus said. He sounded worried. She opened her eyes. They both looked at her with concern.

"I'm fine. I just need sleep." Remus touched her forehead. She shut her eyes again. It hurt when she opened them.

"She's burning up, Severus." She felt another hand at her forehead.

"Lily, you're on fire. You should go to the hospital wing. You're sick."

"I can't take any more potion yet. I'll be okay."

"You are not okay. Lily, you are nearly sweating. You can't stop trembling." Remus said. She felt so terrible, she hadn't noticed she was sweating or shaking the entire couch.

"I'm fine, guys, really." She sat up, but felt dizzy doing so. She tried to get up from the couch so she could go to her dorm and lay down, but only took two steps before she collapsed. The boys ran to her, along with several others who were in the dorm. Fern and Kellie came to her aid, trying to help her sit up.

"I'm going to get some cold paper towels."

"I'll help." Eddie said and he and Severus ran off to the bathroom.

"I'm getting McGonagall!" She heard James say and he ran off to the Professor's office. When the portrait closed, she noticed her ears were ringing a little. Lily put her hands up to her ears as Severus and Eddie were coming back with damp paper towels.

"Professor! Professor!" James pounded on her door. She opened it and looked a bit aggravated upon seeing his face.

"What do you need, Mr. Potter?" She looked at his face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Lily. She's really sick. She's burning up!" The professor hurried out and came running into the common room. Severus, Remus and Kellie were trying to cool her down with the wet paper towels. A third year girl named Mindy was talking to her kindly, trying to keep her calm.

"What's the matter?"

"She's not feeling well. She's got a high fever and seems to be having trouble walking. We're trying to cool her down and keep her calm. She's a little scared." Mindy told her. Lily hated all the fuss, but didn't feel up to fighting. McGonagall put her hand to Lily's forehead.

"Dear child, you must go to the hospital wing right now."

"I-"She started to protest, but stopped, too tired to care anymore. What was wrong with her anyway?

Severus, James, Kellie and Mindy helped carry her to the hospital wing, followed by the Professor. Lily could hardly stand up. The bouncing of the stairs nauseated her a little. She hoped she didn't vomit in front of them. It was embarrassing enough to have to have to be practically carried to the hospital wing.

"Poppy, we have an emergency!" McGonagall called to Madam Pomfrey. She rushed out.

"Oh, dear. Put her in the bed." Madam Pomfrey checked Lily's temperature. "105! You are very sick. Say good night to your friends. You are staying here overnight, no exceptions!" She shooed the others away and shoved a potion to Lily and made her drink while she and McGonagall put cold cloths on her to try and knock her fever down. Their anxiety frightened her a little. She began to wonder if she was dying as she fell into a forced slumber.


	5. Chapter 5: Under the Weather: Part II

**Chapter 5: Under the Weather: Part II**

*_Continuation of Chapter 4, obviously. I am actually surprised by all the alerts I have gotten on this story. I'm glad you like it and I hope you are patient with me with the updates. As much I'd love to just sit down and write, I have a lot of obligations that come first (job, summer class, keeping my place looking reasonable , church activities, watching my parents' dog while they go on vacation, etc.). I also liked the reviews I've received so far. They are appreciated. This chapter is shorter. I wanted to break it up. I hope to work on the next couple of chapters for both of my stories over the holiday weekend since I have four days free from work and classes and I won't know what else to do with myself. I am not used to this much free time! _

Severus, James and Kellie stood outside the hall doors to the hospital wing. Mindy was watching Severus pace.

"She'll be okay. Madam Pomfrey is terrific at her job."

"Yes, but we don't know what's wrong with Lily. What if she doesn't get better?" He asked nervously.

"They'll cool her down and give her some potions to help. Stop worrying." Severus stopped and looked fiercely at her.

"Easy for you to say." He continued pacing. "I just wish they'd say something." He leaned against the doors. "I can't really hear anything. They keep mumbling though and moving about a lot."

"Guys, it's time for dinner. We should get down to the Great Hall."

"Go ahead. I'm staying. I don't care if I get in trouble. I'm not hungry anyway." Severus said.

"Fine then, but don't blame me when McGonagall comes out and gives you detention."

"I'm going too. Lily will be fine. I'll come in before curfew to check on her." Kellie said.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be better by morning." James said. "Come on, Snivellus." Severus turned to James and bit back the insults he wanted to hurtle at him.

"I said I am staying, Potter. I don't care if I get detention."

"Turning into a troublemaker, are you, greasy?" James asked and laughed to himself.

"Come on, let's go before our head of house catches us loitering here." Mindy said and the three of them left, leaving Severus alone.

Severus slumped by the doors, trying to hear something, any word about Lily's condition. She had to be okay. He didn't want to lose his best friend so soon. They'd only just begun Hogwarts together. The first year wasn't even over yet. They still had six more years of schooling left. Lily was a bright witch and he knew it would be a great loss to lose someone like her.

An hour later, Professor McGonagall came bursting out of the room, but didn't notice Severus sitting on the floor. She tore off down a different hallway. He had held his breath, expecting her to see him and berate him before giving him a week's detention. When nothing happened, and the footsteps had died, he began to listen again.

McGonagall had left the door open and he took a peek inside to see if he could spot Lily. She was asleep now. Even from his distance, he could tell she was still sickly pale and flushed.

"What do you think you are doing?" He heard a voice snap at him. He jumped and saw Madam Pomfrey eyeing him bitterly, ready to scold him.

"I, I, I was, um, just seeing how she was doing. She's my friend." Madam Pomfrey softened her expression.

"Yes, I'm afraid she is still quite sick."

"Did you get her fever down?"

"A little, but her temperature is still quite high. Some sort of infection, I presume. Possibly pneumonia."

"Will she be okay?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Can I stay? With her, I mean. I won't be a problem. I'm not hungry anyway." He braced himself for a lecture, but didn't receive it.

Poppy sighed. "I suppose you could stay for a little while longer, but keep your distance a bit. I don't want you coming down with it too." Severus was shocked, but smiled.

"Thanks." He went in and sat on the bed by Lily.

"Here's a chair." Madam Pomfrey said, conjuring up one near Lily's bed. He moved to the chair.

Lily looked terrible, he thought. As she slept, he could hear her wheezing, as if her chest was heavily congested. It was almost an hour later before she awoke.

When Lily woke, she felt terrible pains in her chest. She looked around and saw Severus sitting near her bed. She smiled weakly.

"Severus." She said in an almost inaudible, hoarse voice. He looked up and smiled.

"Lily, you're awake." He moved to her bed. "How are you feeling?" Lily sat up, but the second she did, she felt her chest heave. It was as if someone or something heavy was sitting on it. She started to cough and then couldn't stop. "Lily? Lily, what's wrong?" Severus was in a panic and was about to get Madam Pomfrey, when she came rushing in.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She woke up and when she sat up, she went into a coughing fit." Lily's face had turned blood red. Poppy was hurrying to get some potions together. Lily felt like she was going to throw up, but she couldn't catch her breath to say anything and suddenly vomited all over her bed. Severus and Poppy leapt aside quickly, barely avoiding getting splashed.

Madam Pomfrey used her wand to clean it up and remove the sheets for fresh ones. She handed Lily some potions and a bucket. She forced the potion down Lily's throat. Lily continued coughing, but was now coughing up mucous. Lily thought it was rather disgusting. She spent 10 minutes doing so, before her coughing quieted. She lay back down in the bed, exhausted. Severus walked back over to her. Madam Pomfrey was putting cloths into a bucket of water.

"May I?" He asked. She handed him the cold, damp cloth.

"Certainly, dear." Severus took the cloth and put it to Lily's forehead.

"I'm sorry." She apologized hoarsely.

"For what?" He asked, confused.

"For nearly puking on you. I couldn't help it."Her voice was quite shaky, her teeth chattering from fever.

"It's fine. You didn't get me." He smiled at her. She gave him a tiny sheepish grin. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry you are so sick. You need to get better though. I still need your help for charms."

"Yes, you do." She said, slightly serious, slightly humorous. He laughed a little. Her smile got a little better.

"You're taking care of me this time. Usually I'm the one taking care of you." Severus recalled the times she had doctored the wounds he'd received from his father.

"It's about time I return the favor." She nodded, giving him a weak smile back.

"Best friends always, Sev." She gave his hand a light squeeze, unable to manage anything more because she was so weak.

"Always, Lily." Lily took his hand in hers again. He held it tight. She closed her eyes as he rubbed the cold cloth against her hot cheeks. He pulled up the covers to her shoulders. She curled up in them and drifted back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Recovery

**Chapter 6: Recovery**

*Sorry for the long delay. I have been rather ill and haven't felt up to editing this. I am doing a little better, but still not fully myself. I will say that I am sick of applesauce and popsicles. I am glad I can finally eat little better now. I hope anyone reading this is doing better than I am. Funny, I write about an illness and recovery and now I am in the same position (sort of, no hospitals for me yet). I tried to edit, but I'm at my best, so forgive minor errors and tell me about major ones, please. Thanks!

Severus came to the hospital wing soon after he had woken up. It was still quite early, but he hadn't been able to sleep much that night.

Lily was asleep when he arrived.

"How is she?"

"Still quite ill, I'm afraid. She was up a couple times last night coughing a bit, but she's rested well. She's doing a little better." He went over to Lily. Her face was still flushed with fever. He opened up his potions book and looked through it.

Severus had barely looked through the homework when he heard a scream. He jumped. Lily had bolted up and looked terrified.

"What happened, Lily?" She buried her face in her hands.

"I want my mum and dad!" She was crying. "I want to go home!" She wailed. Severus went over to her.

"It's okay, Lily. You're going to be fine."

"I don't feel good. I want my mum!" He took her hand. He hated that she wanted to her mother. He figured Lily's parents probably took good care of her and Petunia when they were sick. She wanted to be comforted, but he couldn't bring her parents to her.

"It's okay, Lily. You'll feel better soon. Madam Pomfrey says you are doing better."

"I feel sick. Where's my mum?"

"Lily, it'll be okay."

"Sev?"

"Yea."

"Can you put my hair back?" He sat on the bed and took the clasp and pulled it back. Before he could clasp it, she started to cough. She coughed uncontrollably. He rubbed her back a little, hoping to help her get some of the mucous out. Madam Pomfrey forced a potion down her throat again.

"I was afraid that might happen. You'll feel better by this afternoon. You are getting up the last of the infection in your body."

Lily's coughing soon quieted and she turned to Severus, who stopped rubbing her back.

"Thanks, Sev. You really are a great friend."

"You are a better friend, Lils. I know if the situation was reversed, you'd do the same."

"You know it." She sighed and lay back down. "I'm going to miss my classes today."

"It's okay, I'll catch you up."

"I have your word on that?"

"Absolutely."

"I think you should go to breakfast. You can tell me at how the morning classes went at lunch."

"I" Severus started to protest. Lily pursed her lips, scowling at him. He knew her enough to know she would not stand for anything else. "Alright, boss. I'll go eat."

"That's all I ask." She smiled. He left for the Great Hall.

0o0o0o

The following day, Lily was allowed to leave the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey's medicines had healed her quickly. She was feeling much better, but was still a little weak.

"Take it easy, though. Don't do any task that requires a lot of exertion. I have already informed your professors and you won't be doing any defenses or charms today. Professor Slughorn has an easy potion planned just for you."

Lily crossed her arms. What good was going to class again if she couldn't do anything anyway? She hated the fuss over it even more. Everyone having to do an easy potion just because she was getting over her illness annoyed her. She hated all the fuss.

"Come on, Lily. Don't worry about it. You should take it easy." Lily glared at Severus.

"You're just as bad as she is. Fussing over me. I am not sick anymore. I'm just a little tired. I can handle myself without all this silly worrying." She turned away from him, her arms still crossed.

"It's just one day. Besides, if we do easy stuff, we probably won't get much homework and you can catch up on the work you missed." Lily slowed turned back to him.

"Fine." She answered in aggravation. "I'll go, but I am NOT going to like this."

"You are quite stubborn, you know?" Severus said with a little smile as she got up from the bed.

"Yes, I am." She answered, grabbing her books. "But you are much more stubborn than myself."

"I can't argue with you there." They left for class.

It wasn't bad until Potions.

"We are going to make an easy potion today. A simple dream catching potion." As Slughorn wrote the ingredients, Lily heard the Slytherins mumbling. They were looking at her. This made her quite uncomfortable.

"Hey, heard you fainted the other day." Lily pretended to ignore him as she got her ingredients.

"She didn't faint. Mind your own business." Mary snapped at them.

"Really, because Rosier saw you in the hospital wing the other night."

"I was sick. What do you care?" She said, losing her patience with them.

"I heard she barfed all over Madam Pomfrey." Lily felt her face turn red. She had almost thrown up on the nurse, but how did the Slytherins know this.

"I did not!" She said, stomping her foot in frustration. They laughed at her.

"She did barf on her. Look, her face is turning red." Rosier and Avery mimicked her barfing on the nurse. Severus pulled out his wand. Lily grabbed his arm quickly.

"No, don't. You'll just make it worse." At that moment, Slughorn came toward them.

"Are you feeling better, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes, sir."

"That's good. I missed having one of my star students in class. Take it easy. If you need to sit down or leave, just let me know."

"Okay. Thanks, sir." Lily could feel the Slytherins eyes on her, but she began her potion. She pretended to not notice them pretending to barf in their cauldrons and mimicking fainting.

0o0o0o

"I hate them. All of them. I am sooo glad we didn't get in Slytherin. I'll take arrogant Potter and Black any day over them." Lily said to Severus as they did their homework in the library. She folded her arms on the table and put her chin on them before letting out a huff of irritation.

"Yea. Sometimes I think I'd like to be there, but other times, like today, I am glad I'm not. I wouldn't have made fun of you even if I was in Slytherin." Lily perked up at this.

"I know." She smiled. "You are too good for them, though." Lily looked around.

"I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to go back up to the dorms and rest."

"Are you feeling sick again?"

"No, just tired. I guess the classes, though quite easy, wore me out. I'm still recovering, I guess."

"Yeah. Did you get your homework finished?"

"Almost. I got my makeup work finished and the Defense essay. I'll do the rest over the weekend. Night, Sev."

"Night, Lily." Lily left the library and walked back to the dorms.

"Don't go down there. Peeves said something about throwing oranges." A portrait told her.

"Okay. I guess I'll take the long way." Lily walked around in a different direction. She was near the end of a hallway when she heard a voice and recognized it as Mulciber. She ducked behind a statue.

"Password."

"Shhh. Don't talk. He'll find me. I don't feel like dealing with him right now." She whispered.

"You still need the password."

"Shh." She said, but it was too late.

"Look who I found, Avery. It's the mudblood."

"She looks a bit pale. You gonna throw up again?" Lily shook her head, not moving from behind the statue.

"She's afraid of us, she's hiding." Suddenly, Lily was thrust out from behind the statue. "What should we do with the mudblood?"

"Hex her."

"No, curse her."

"A good curse. One that will hurt her and show her where her place is." Lily trembled in fear. What were they going to do to her? Rosier pointed his wand. Lily shut her eyes.

"What is going on here?" She heard a voice ask calmly. Lily opened her eyes. Rosier was shoving his wand away.

"Why is this young girl on the floor and why was your wand pointed at her, Evan?"

"She came at us."

"She appears unarmed. Where is your wand, child?" Her wand. Lily wanted to smack her forehead. Of course, why didn't she get out her wand? She must be feeling ill if she couldn't even remember her wand.

" In, in, my, my, cloak, s-sir." She said, still trembling.

"You boys ought to get to bed. If I catch you making threats again to your fellow classmates, you will be in serious trouble, understand?" The three boys nodded in surprise and then ran off.

"You alright, Lily, is it?" She nodded and got her feet, still trembling.

"I-I'm sorry, sir."

"For what? You did nothing wrong. You look a little pale. I think you should go up to your dorm. I'll walk you there if your wish." Dumbledore smiled at her. She nodded.

She found a full common room when she entered and slipped past them up to her dorms. She changed into her nightclothes and collapsed on the bed. Just as she was drifting to sleep, Fern and June entered the room.

"Lily, you okay?"

"Yes, just tired. I'm still not fully recovered. The classes took a lot of out of me. Night."

"Okay. Goodnight, Lily. I hope you feel better tomorrow." It didn't take long for her drift back to sleep, but her mind was plagued with worry about the Slytherins and what Rosier might have done to her if Dumbledore hadn't shown up. It was a restless night.


	7. Chapter 7: Summer

_*Ionic: I'm not sure what you mean, but I spoke of the issue you speak of already. Yes, I have a plan or an idea for the ending already. I plan on this being 20 or so chapters. I have every intention to finish, but it may take time. I don't plan on abandoning the story. _

_A/N: I wanted to post this yesterday, but the nasty heat wave (it's been a scorcher with heat indexes near 120F) combined with some awful storms last night knocked out power briefly, screwing with the internet. I was able to get a new story up and a chapter of another, but not this one before the power went out. Here's an update, nonetheless. Class is over, no more major projects to do, so I will try to update this every few days until the semester begins. _

_Language warning in this chapter. _

**Chapter 7: Summer**

Lily's fears about some of the Slytherins did not come true, at least not for the remainder of that year. The rest of the year passed rather quickly and before they knew it, they were on the train heading back to London.

"I hope Tuney's not still made me." She said out loud.

"She shouldn't be. She's just jealous, she'll get over it."

"I hope so. She was still mad at me at Christmas."

"That was months ago."

Lily sighed. "I just hate her being mad at me."

When they arrived at the station, Lily found her parents, but Petunia wasn't around. Severus left with his mother, not happy about going back home to his family.

0o0o0o

"Oh, look, the freak is back." Petunia greeted Lily from her bedroom across the hall when Lily came upstairs. She turned to Petunia.

"Don't call me that!"

"It's what you are, isn't it? All you people are nothing but freaks. All that so called magic. I don't believe a word of it."

"You did when I got my letter. You even wanted to go to the school."

Petunia glared at Lily. Lily glared back. "I do not want to go to your stupid school. I have my own school and my own friends." Petunia got up and walked to the doorway. "If you hadn't decided to become a freak, you would be at the same normal school."

"I didn't decide to become a witch. I was born one!"

"That's what they want you think. It's all some silly game. Witches and wizards are only in books, Lily."

"No they're not, Petunia and you know that. My friends and I are wizards and witches."

"No, you and your friends are all freaks! My friends are normal!" At that, Petunia slammed the door on Lily's face, leaving her both confused and hurt. She couldn't believe almost a year had passed since she got her letter and Petunia was still jealous of her. Lily stormed off to her room, shutting her door hard, but not slamming it. She didn't want her parents to be mad at her already.

Lily kicked at her suitcase. Things were not any better. She left out a frustrated huff as she sat on her bed, crossing her arms. It was going to be a long summer.

0o0o0o

"She won't talk to me and when she does, it's always something mean. Mom says it is just her age and she'll grow out of it. I'm not so sure anymore."

"I'm sorry, Lily." Severus and Lily were by the river, their old hangout before Hogwarts.

"I wonder if someone can stay mad at you forever." Severus shrugged. "What about your parents? Are things going okay?"

Severus sighed. "No worse or better than usual."

"They still fight all the time." He nodded, picking at blades of grass. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No family is perfect, I guess."

"No. That is true." She wanted to do something else. She didn't want to think about Severus's parents fighting or Petunia. "Come on. Let's see who can skip their stones the farthest." She grabbed a handful of rocks by the shore and got up. They both skipped stones for awhile before going back to the playground.

"Do you want to come over for dinner?" She asked him. "Mum's making Shepherd's Pie."

"I don't know, Lily. I don't like intruding."

"You're not intruding." She chuckled. "She says you are allowed over for tea or supper any time you want."

"She just feels sorry for me." He mumbled, looking down at his worn shoes.

"She does not. She likes you, Sev. That's why she lets you come over. Petunia's friends get the exact same invitation." She leaned over to his ear and whispered. "But I think she likes you better than that silly Vernon Dursley Petunia fancies. Don't tell her I told you that though." Severus smiled at Lily.

"He's that chubby boxer at Petunia's school, isn't he?" She nodded.

"Chubby is an understatement. Petunia says he is NOT chubby, he's just big-boned and that he has to big since he's a boxer." A smile crept up Lily's face. "But I still say he is fat and an arrogant, bloody jerk."

"Why, Lily Evans, what would your mother say if she heard you talk like that?" Severus smirked.

"She'd tell me to watch my tongue. How do you watch your tongue anyway?" She stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes as if to look at it. "You can't watch your tongue." Severus laughed.

"That's a lovely look on you." She looked at him for a second before bursting out laughing.

"I bet it looked pretty silly." He nodded honestly, but was smiling. Once Lily caught her breath, she spoke again. "So, are you coming to dinner?"

"Oh, alright, but I have to tell my mum what I am doing."

"Okay, let's go to your house."

"No, I can go by myself."

"I didn't mean inside. I'll wait for you outside." He was about to protest, when she put her hand up to stop him. "You aren't leaving me here by myself. I am coming, no exceptions."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Lily smiled and started to walk down the road toward his house. He didn't move.

"Are you coming or not, Severus Snape?" He started up to her, but she broke into a run. "Come on, Sev, you can run faster than that!"

She beat him to the gate in front of his home. They both stopped to catch their breath. "Ok, you win, Evans."

"You bloody woman! You need to shut up!" A man yelled, causing them both to jump. Severus knew instantly that it was his father. The door to the house started to open. Severus grabbed Lily and they hid behind a bush. "I'm going to the pub! Clean the damn kitchen!" The man staggered off up the road.

After a couple minutes, they emerged from their hiding spot. "Was that your dad?" He nodded. She looked angry. "What a horrible man!"

"That's dad. Come on, I'll tell mum quickly and then we'll go your place." She nodded. He went inside the house.

"Mum?"

"What?" She asked with bitterness in her tone.

"I'm going to Lily's for dinner. I'll be back before dark." No answer. "Bye." He shut the door.

"Come on, Lily. Let's go your place." She nodded. They went up the street, not looking back at the run down place Severus was forced to call home. He'd never tell Lily, but he loved being invited to her home. Even with Petunia there, it was more of a home to him than his house would ever be and Mr. and Mrs. Evans were much nicer to him than his parents ever were. No, he'd never tell Lily this, but he figured she already knew.


	8. Chapter 8: Temper Control

_Thanks __**MalfoyIsOurKing**__ and __**HogwartsIsMyHome **__for your nice reviews. Here's an update finally. I had a bit of writer's block and I kept changing my mind on what to write for this chapter. I hope my readers like it. I finally do ;) I already started on the next chapter. It should be sometime this week. _

**Chapter 8: Temper Control **

Summer's were both never long enough and too long, Severus thought as he and Lily boarded the train to Hogwarts for their second year. They found an empty compartment, but were soon joined by Eddie and Mary. The trip was much more enjoyable this time.

Severus and Lily found they didn't have to cross the lake this year. The carriage rides were much warmer. There were two others in the carriage with them. They were both older, but seemed friendly enough.

"So, you are both in Gryffindor?" They nodded to the girl. "Us too. I'm Alice Young. I'm a fourth year. This is Frank Longbottom. He's a fifth year."

"Hi." Lily said. "We're in our second year. I'm Lily Evans. This is Severus Snape." Snape gave them a smile.

"Did the two of you have a good summer?"

"Yes, mostly." Lily answered. Severus just nodded.

"Either of you trying out for Quidditch?" They shook their heads. Frank smiled. "That's okay."

"You play, don't you?" Severus asked, remembering the boy from the games last year.

"Yes. I'm a beater."

"Oh, yeah. You all play well." Lily said, remembering him as well.

"Thank you, Lily." He smiled at her before turning to Alice. They arrived inside the castle and took seats beside each other at their table. All the other students from the second years on up were making their way inside and to their tables.

It wasn't long before the doors opened and several scared looking first years came in with McGonagall. McGonagall had a stool with the sorting hat sitting on top. Everyone watched as the sorting began.

"Black, Regulus." Lily saw James nudge Sirius.

"Which house will your brother be in?"

"Slytherin. No doubt."

The hat took a moment to decide. "Slytherin." Regulus looked a lot like Sirius, minus the mischievous look in his eyes that Sirius possessed.

It didn't take long to sort through the new students and soon enough the feast had began. The same announcements were made and all too soon they were headed to the dorms for the night. James and Sirius reminded Severus, Eddie and Todd of their nicknames from last year. Todd had a supply of every flavor beans the six of them shared. Eddie spoke about his trip to Rome. Lupin came across an earwax flavored bean and decided he didn't want anymore. Lily was enjoying the company of her friends as well. It was good to be back.

The first week of classes went smoothly. Quidditch tryouts were posted and Potter began to brag about getting on the team. Sure enough, Potter ended up as the team's seeker. Severus thought Potter's head grew two sizes overnight and his ego about five times. It was all he could do the night following Potter's achievement not to roll his eyes. Potter imitated his skills on an invisible broom and boasted of his performance at the tryouts once more.

Severus worked on his potions book, making changes here and there, trying to ignore Potter and Black. Black didn't try out for the team this year. Sirius didn't want to be a seeker or a keeper and those were the only two positions that were open. Technically, everyone tried out for the team each year, but the same people usually played until they graduated. James was insisting Lupin try out next year. Lupin was persistent that he couldn't play for health reasons.

Todd was working on his transfiguration homework. He finally had enough of Potter and Black and threw his pillow at James with all his might. James, who was caught off guard, hit the ground with the force of the pillow. "Hey! What was that for, O'Brian?"

"Can it already! I'm trying to change this object and I can't concentrate!" Severus silently snickered.

"You need my help? I am quite talented at transfiguration."

"No, I need you to shut it." Severus heard Eddie chuckle. Potter grumbled, but stopped showing off and disappeared into the washroom. Some things certainly hadn't changed from the year before.

0o0o0o

_Mid-October 1972_

"We have Defense this morning." Fern said to Lily. Lily made a face. Lily did not like Defense and this year they had it with the Slytherins. Severus let out a quiet huff. He liked defense last year, even if Wick was a bit harsh. Still, Wick was a saint compared to Schmidt. Schmidt was a firecracker ready to explode. Schmidt had been a Slytherin and openly favored them. She was always on the ready to deduct points from the other houses and was a generally unpleasant woman. Luckily, the Defense against the Dark Arts post was supposedly cursed and no one ever lasted more than a year. Severus would just bear it this year and hope for better next year.

At least Severus and Lily had Potions to look forward to and Slughorn was still at his position. Flitwick was still the Charms professor and that was Lily's favorite class other than potions. Every other teacher was the same. They had the same classes as the previous year, except more advanced work.

Severus sighed as he and Lily made their way down to the Defense classroom. They took their seats at the back of the classroom, hoping to stay hidden from Schmidt. _Out of sight, out of mind_ Severus had told Lily once they realized how abrasive their new professor could be. She hadn't hesitated at his suggestion to stay in the back of the room. The other Gryffindors followed their lead after the first week and kept to themselves in the class.

"Books out, Parchment out, quills inked and wands away for now." The woman said and they started into lecture for the first half hour. Then they began a paired practical. Severus was paired with Mulciber, much to his displeasure.

"Okay, you will practice defending yourself against the leg locking hex. Slytherin side will start and Gryffindors will defend themselves or attempt to anyway." Severus frowned. She was implying he couldn't defend himself. He'd show her. He got out his wand, ready for the strike. He had read ahead in his book and knew an easy way to block such a spell. "Wands at the ready and go."

The Slytherins struck at their opponents. Most were knocked to their feet, legs stuck together. Mulciber aimed at Severus, but Severus was quicker and knocked the spell back at him. Mulciber was caught off guard and the spell hit him. His legs locked together and he fell backward to the floor. Severus gloated at his achievement. He had done it. Schmidt had to acknowledge that he succeeded.

"Mr. Snape, how did you learn to block the hex?"

"I read it in our book, Professor."

"You read ahead?"

"Yes." Reading ahead was a good thing with the other professors, but not with Schmidt apparently.

"I did not tell you to read ahead. 10 points from Gryffindor." Severus silently seethed. Schmidt undid Mulciber's hex. "Thaddeus, you will redo the hex and don't block it this time, Mr. Snape."

"But isn't that what you told us to do, Professor? Aren't we supposed to defend ourselves? This is a Defense class, isn't it?" Severus blurted out in his frustration. He immediately regretted it.

"10 more points from Gryffindor for insolence, Mr. Snape. Redo the hex and don't read ahead anymore." She left. Mulciber looked at him with a crooked smile. Snape sneered back. He wasn't going to let Mulciber intimidate him.

Snape looked over at Lily, who was stuck in the hex. He would show her how to block the hexes. He had not done so before. He looked back at Mulciber and his eyebrow was raised. An unkind sneer formed on Mulciber's lips. Severus was afraid to know what he was thinking about, but Severus would defend himself despite what Schmidt said.

"You're a half-blood, aren't you, Snape?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Yes and your point?"

"There is worthy blood and not so worthy blood. Being a half-blood isn't the best thing, but it is better than being of no wizarding blood at all."

"What's your point, Thaddeus?" Severus jeered at his name. Mulciber glanced over toward Lily.

"You can have better friends, Snape. You know your defenses. We could use people like you on our side."

"People like me? Your side? What are talking about?"

"There's a powerful wizard gaining power, Snape. He has good ideas and will bring great change to this world. He will help get rid of bad blood." Snape wasn't liking the direction this was headed and figured he knew what Mulciber meant in terms of bad blood.

"Is that so?" Was all Snape could think of to say.

"You would be good for us. If you stay from bad blood, that is." Severus had a feeling this was about Lily and he would not have it. "Look, I won't deny she's a hot one and you have good taste in looks." Severus glared daggers at him for that comment. "But she's not worthy. She's useless to our world and when he rises to power, he will get rid of filthy mudbloods like her." Severus's blood boiled at those words. How dare he call Lily unworthy? How dare he call her useless to the wizarding world? She was far more intelligent and skilled than Mulciber and his friends ever would be? Severus's ears rang in anger and he raised his wand.

"Stupefy!" He shouted and Mulciber was thrown across the room, knocked out cold. His hands shook in anger and it took a moment to realize what he'd done. He also felt eyes watching him.

"Mr. Snape, what do you think you are doing?" Severus opened his mouth to protest and thought better of it. She would not hear it and he knew this. He also knew he was in deep sludge, but he didn't care. He'd defend Lily, even if he spent the rest of his year in detention. "Answer me! How did you know that curse?"

"I, well, I"

"Don't stutter, boy!"

"I read it. In the book." Her eyes flamed.

"Detention for entire week, Mr. Snape. With Filch." She turned to the class. "And 50 points from Gryffindor. Class dismissed. Everyone out of my sight." They all scrambled out of the classroom. Lily caught up with Severus.

"I can't believe you hexed Mulciber like that."

"He was, he said," He was still fuming.

"What? What did he say?"

"He called you unworthy and useless to our world. He called you a filthy mudblood and said he wanted you dead." Lily's eyes were wide.

"Sev, I, you didn't have to defend me."

He looked at her in astonishment. "Of course I did. You are my friend. Best friend and I won't let him talk about you that way."

"Why would he say that though? Why was he threatening to kill me?"

"He wasn't threatening to kill. He doesn't want to kill you. He wants some psycho to do it."

"A hitman?"

"No, someone he said is gaining power. A wizard who wants all those with bad blood gone."

"People like me." Severus didn't answer. She sighed. "Why?"

"I don't know, Lily. I don't know who he is." They were quiet as they walked to their next class.

"Sev?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you want to defend me and all and you are really good defenses and stuff" He smiled. "But don't get yourself expelled. You need to control that temper of yours before it controls you."

"And your temper, Ms. Evans?" She looked flabbergasted.

"I don't have a temper." He rolled his eyes and looked at her. "I don't have a temper." She said again. He raised his eyebrow. "Okay, fine. Maybe a little one." She sighed. "Maybe we should both work on controlling our tempers." He smiled.

"Okay, deal. I'll work on my temper if you will, Lily Evans."

"It's a deal, Severus Snape." They hurried into Charms just before the bell sounded.

**Next Chapter: Lily has a bad week.**


	9. Chapter 9: Lily's Bad Week

**A/N**: If you a bit squeamish about body issues, you may want to skip the second part.

Thanks to _HogwartsisMyHome91_ and _Klester1987_ for their reviews.

**Chapter 9: Lily's Bad Week**

_Late November 1972_

It was Monday evening and Lily and Severus were in the Great Hall having supper when an owl arrived and dropped a note for Lily. It was from her parents. She had told her parents how to use owl post to contact her if they needed to at any point. Lily opened the letter and began to read.

_Dear Lily,_

_We hope you are having a good time at school this year. Petunia is enjoying her year so far. _

Lily rolled her eyes at the mention of Petunia. If Petunia didn't care about Lily anymore, Lily decided she didn't care about Petunia either (much). She read on.

_I regret to inform you of some grave news regarding your mother. Her tumor has grown and become cancerous. The doctors aren't sure how much time she has left and are currently giving her six weeks time. We will keep you informed of her health. Please keep up your hard work and don't fret. There is no need to worry yet. _

_I love you,_

_Dad_

Lily reread the letter, sure she hadn't heard right. Her mother was dying. Her mother had a brain tumor, but it was benign and now they were saying it was cancer and she was dying. She looked down at her dinner, no longer hungry. She got up from the table.

"Hey, Lily, where are you going?" Fern asked.

"To the dorms. I don't feel well." She left the Great Hall and went up the tower. It was empty. She sat down on a chair and looked at the letter again. Her mother couldn't be dying. She just couldn't be. She still had her father, yes, but she didn't want just her dad. She wanted both of them. It was really hard to process the thought of her mother dying and she wasn't sure what to think or feel.

At that moment, she heard the portrait open. She folded the letter and put it in her robe.

"Lily?" It was Severus. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said without thinking. He sat down beside her. She sighed. "No, not really."

"What happened?"

"My mum." She took a deep breath. "She was sick and they thought she had a tumor, but they said it was fine." Tears filled her eyes. "Now Dad says it's not and that the tumor is cancerous. She's dying, Sev. My mum is dying."

"Lily, I'm sorry."

"She has to be okay. I can't lose my mother." Lily burst into tears and put her head on Severus' shoulder. He let her cry and put his arm around her. After a while, she calmed down.

"Do you want to play a game of wizard's chess?" She shrugged, but decided it would probably be good to get her mind on something else.

"Ok. I'm white though." He smiled and she got off him and they played until it was time for lights out.

0o0o0o

Thursday was fine at first. That was until Lily went to the restroom and realized something had happened to her body. She knew it could happen at any time, but that doesn't mean she was prepared for it. Her mother had explained to her all about it a couple years ago and Madam Pomfrey had explained it last year using a witches' guide. But with everything that happened this week so far, she wasn't ready to accept this change. She definitely wasn't ready to become a woman, as her mother had called it, overnight. On top of that, her stomach hurt a little.

"Hey, Lily, hurry up in here." Fern said, entering the room. "What's the matter?" She said, seeing Lily clutching her abdomen.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She said a bit too quick. Fern looked at her funny.

"Are you having cramps?" She whispered. Lily's face flushed. "We can go to Madam Pomfrey, she has potions for that. It's amazing." Lily was feeling a bit embarrassed. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about, but she was being silly, worrying about this. It happened to all girls and she wasn't an exception. She knew most of her housemates talked about getting theirs already. It was just rather frustrating. She didn't want to deal with it right now.

"Fine." She said. She went with her to the hospital wing. Despite Lily's embarrassment in asking for the potion, Madam Pomfrey didn't seem the least bit fazed and handed her one without a word. This made Lily grateful.

She went to breakfast and managed to eat a bit of oatmeal, but she wasn't hungry.

"Everything okay, Lily?" Severus asked, noting that she wasn't really eating.

"I'm fine. I'm just not hungry." He assumed she was feeling upset about her mother, so he didn't press the issue.

The potion began to kick in after her first class began, but she was still fatigued and as Severus pointed out, grumpy.

"I am NOT grumpy." She snapped at him. He put his hands up in defense.

"Okay, fine." He hadn't really done anything, she just felt ready to snap at anybody because of her frustration.

"Sorry, Sev. I'm just having a bad day." He frowned, but looked sympathetic. The rest of the day went on as usual and Lily tried to get herself in a better mood.

That evening she studied with Severus and Remus, but was finding it hard to focus.

"Which do you think, Lily? Should you turn your wand slightly left?" Remus asked.

Lily was only half listening in a tired haze. She was thinking about her mother being ill and about today. She wasn't concentrating on her homework, though she needed to and she knew this.

"Lily?" Remus nudged her. "Earth to Lily." Lily snapped out her thoughts and turned to him.

"What?" She snapped. He looked taken aback at her tone.

"Should you turn your wand slightly left when doing the charm or not?"

"I don't know and I don't care." Lily put her left hand against her face and rolled her quill. Severus and Remus looked at each other and shrugged.

"Lily, we know your mother is very ill, but it's not our fault." She glared at Remus.

"I know there's nothing you can do about it!" She snapped at him again.

"That's what's wrong, isn't it?" Severus asked. Lily sighed with a slight shrug.

"Well, what's wrong if it's not your mom's condition?" Lily didn't answer at first.

"Nothing." She mumbled. He didn't believe her.

"You sure?" She nodded. It wasn't like she could tell him. That would be embarrassing. Severus shrugged and began to work on the History of Magic assignment. Lily got to work on Herbology.

The three of them worked in silence for awhile. Suddenly, Lily heard a squeal of delight and saw someone running to her. Kellie was making her way over with June, excitement in her eyes.

"Hey, Lily, Fern just told us." Lily looked confused a second before realization kicked in. _Oh, please, don't say it, please. _The last thing she wanted was for them to talk about her "girl issue" in front of her two male housemates.

"Oh." She said and looked back at her page. Remus and Severus had stopped working and looked at the girls, confused. "We are busy. We'll talk later, okay?" Lily hoped Kellie and June would get the hint that she didn't want to talk about this right now. They didn't get the hint.

"I'm so excited for you." _Don't say it, please. _"You finally got your first visit with Aunt Flo. I got mine this summer." Lily felt horrified. She hoped the boys didn't get what Kellie was saying. She couldn't look at either of them. "Aren't you excited?"

"Not particularly, no." She said, honestly. She really just wanted Kellie and June to go away. "We are trying to do our homework." Lily said through her teeth.

" But you are officially a woman now?" She said it. Lily groaned and felt her cheeks burn. She knew Severus and Remus had to know what Kellie meant. Could this get any more embarrassing? "You know what this means, right?"

Lily gulped. _No, please_. "We get to do something special to celebrate getting your period." It was beyond embarrassing. Half of the common room was now listening and Lily was beyond mortified. She snatched her books, refusing to look at either boy and turned to Kellie.

"I don't want to do anything special. Thanks for ruining my evening." She stormed toward the stairs, her face still burning with embarrassment. Kellie started after her. They would follow her into the dorms and she wouldn't get any privacy. "Just leave me alone." She shouted to them and ran for the portrait and sped away from the tower. She didn't know where she was going, just away from there.

Severus was a bit embarrassed to have found out about his friend's "girl problem." Of course, he realized Lily was beyond mortified, as her face had turned the color of her hair. Remus looked a bit embarrassed for Lily. "I don't think we were supposed to find that out." He whispered.

"No." Severus answered. Normally, he would have gone after Lily, but not this time. She would not want to see him. He hoped she wouldn't stay embarrassed and refuse to talk to him again. Of course, that was silly. She would get over it. He hoped she would anyway.

Remus and Severus continued their homework. Lily didn't come back for until curfew. She refused to talk to her roommates, still mad at them for talking about her "issue" in front of the boys and half her housemates.

0o0o0o

The following morning, Lily was one of the first in the Great Hall. She wanted to avoid everyone after last night. She didn't want anyone giving her "talks" or congratulating her for something so embarrassing (to her anyway). Luckily, even as others came in, no one spoke to her. She was barely half way through breakfast when she saw Severus enter with Remus. She didn't look at them. They both sat across from her.

"Hey, Lily, did you finish your history of magic homework?" Severus asked, hoping to help her forget about the previous evening. Lily was surprised he was being civil for a moment before remembering they were best friends. She sighed. He wouldn't care. She smiled at him.

"Yes." Lily answered.

"You do turn your wand slightly left when doing the flower changing charm. Eddie told me." Remus said, smiling. Lily grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Remus. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"That's okay, no harm, no foul, right." She gave him a small smile.

"I still shouldn't have. I was just having a bad day."

"We are sorry too."

"For what?"

"For you being embarrassed like that." She put her head down.

"We don't care, Lily." Severus said, before she could panic. "Really, it's not a big deal." This wasn't easy to talk about. "Honest. I just want us to stay friends." She sighed.

"Of course we will stay friends." He smiled. Inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the ordeal was over. His friend had a lot on her plate right now. He just hoped things would be better now.

**A/N:** I originally had a few more things happen to Lily, but decided this was enough for one week.


	10. Chapter 10: Writer's Block

This story will be continued once I get out of my block on what to write for the next two chapters. Patience while my writer's block passes me. When it does, I will delete this note and replace it with Chapter 10. I have not abandoned this story, I promise!


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